Marantz 660 killer? New Zoom H4

[riffy]

A promising looking little field recorder by zoom is due to be released in October.

http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1901&brandID=4

So far it looks pretty nice and cheap too - 300.00? Quasi xlr / 1/4 inputs, it's about time someone did that, nice 1/4" line input, SD media (more up to date than CF). 24/96 recorder and higher MP3 bitrates. Curious to hear how the preamps sound compared to the 660, although from what I hear and read that can't be hard to beat. Looks like a slick little through converter to your pc too. It looks like it could beat the pants off of the Marantz 660 - Marantz needs to update. So if you're on the fence about a inexpensive little ENG recorder you may want to wait for this one.

 

[anton]

Yea, i saw that. Looks interesting I am looking for a quiet, non computer solution to record solo guitar instrumentals in stereo. Paired with a good preamp, i wonder if this would fit the bill? It would be easy to transfer my takes to computer for editing.



anton

 

[IslandMusic]

What kind repetion does Zoom have?

Hello,

I need your help.
I was going to get Zoom H4 and called to several local music instrument stores. The salesperson of the biggest store in my state told me that Zoom recorder gets broken so quickly and they do not carry recorder for the reason. Does Zoom recorder have that bad repetition? I am new to this field and I do not know whether the salesperson's impression about Zoom recorder is widely shared. Please let me know your personal experiense and impression with Zoom. The other local stores I have called did not about Zoom well.... Yes, I am in a rural area.

 

[riffy]

I was just hold out until you know more about the unit, it's still very new. Unless you just gotta be the first guy to own one. Zoom is definitely not known for real quality products but who knows, maybe they have a winner here.

 

[IslandMusic]

R-09 and H4

Thank you Riffy,

I have R-09 and I am happy with this basically. It is very small and easy to handle and can deal with 2G SD card. Recording quality is said to be good in general. However, some R-09 owners reported that R-09 has a hissing noise problem in recording. Also, some complained about the recording level button. We want to change recording level during a session but pushing button causes a handling noise. They want to have something else rather than a button for that.

As for H4, so far I heard that that one has less noise than R-09 from many H4 owners in Japan. (Japanese people like to test a new item. It is now like a H4 festival in Japan. They had R-09 festival before summer. Hehe.) But, after a few days from its realese, they are getting our from the first excitement and have started to post some negative comments, such as it is difficult to get our SD card from H4, the exterior was cheaply made, they cannot get stereo feeling from the recording, and so on. I cannot yet tell whether these comments are just they tested it in wrong way. Yes, Riffy, I have to wait until I see more reviews. In Japan, Zoom is considered to be the brand a little bit lower than Roland. It has been considered to be Rock kids' friend, reasonable price but works long.

You know what?, these products are a lot cheaper in Japan. Zoom H4 is now $235. R-09 was also $100 cheaper in Japan... Microphones (not necessarily Japanese or Asian brands) are often cheaper in Japan. Maybe sales market in Japan is better since there are many customers in a smalle place.

Anyway, I would like to hear comments on Zoom H4 from many of you guys.

 

[Dr_simon]

Zoom have a pretty bad rep, kind of like Behringer !

They are famous for guitar fx that are really thin and making kit that breaks a lot.

 

[riffy]

We here in the states appear to be the last ones to get any new electronic goodies. Here you can order a unit but won't get it for another 2 weeks or so. So most people haven't even touched it yet.

 

[anton]

I have heard some pretty good clips of the Zoom unit. www.acousticplayermagazine.com/forum You have to register, go to the recording section, there is a thread with a good discussion. To me it sounds very usable as a quick recording tool and perhaps even to record a cd with a live vibe given the right room and all.


anton

 

[SonicAlbert]

This Zoom H4 interests me a lot too. I really like the combo 1/4"/XLR inputs. I'm just very concerned about the build quality and ruggedness of it. Already you read some complaints about the buttons and the center controller button getting stuck from time to time.

For me, it's between the H4 and the Edirol R9, but I definitely want to wait for more feedback from real world users of the H4.

A friend of mine has the R9 and loves it.

 

[xianbei]

zoom xoom

Zoom is good, but fragile.

I purchased one back in Jan 07. It was easy to use right out of the box (though the interface could have been a little more thought out IMHO). Once your input levels are set, press record and you've got studio quality digital sound!

I like the built-in condenser mics. I can set this thing up in the middle of the practice studio and get great raw recordings that are easily uploaded and mastered in Audacity (open source DAW).

However, I dropped the thing about 3 ft onto a pretty thick wool carpet, and now the AC input jack, mic inputs and mp3 recording mode no longer work. You've got to be really careful with this! It's not a Sony!

It's a bargain for the audio quality - you can pick one up for 200 bucks! Just be careful, because they're not built to handle the road (or the carpet).